6/30/13

Oh lord. What a combo. As you should know by now, Prince is officially back, and he continues to release new music! The icon has liberated the new signle “Ain’t Gonna Miss U (When U’re Gone),” which features Ledisi.

The Grammy-nominated vocalist joins the Purple One on this pure funk classic. Reminiscent of the Prince we all love. The horns and reverberating bassline and funky worm vocal effects will have you undeliably bobbin along. Along with his collaborations with his female rock band 3rd Eye Girl, you can hear Prince on Janelle Monae’s upcoming album The Electric Lady.

6/29/13

So a couple weeks ago 2 Chainz got robbed at gunpoint in the Bay Area and when the story broke, he denied that it ever happened even though a video surfaced…. Well I guess the people who robbed him posted his information on instagram to prove that he indeed get robbed… Stating in the caption ” That N***A 2 Chainz said he never got robbed in the Bay!”

They posted his whole bank card information, which I am sure he has a new by now, but people are ruthless and they are taunting this guy. He is one old looking 35 year old seriously. To the guy who posted the license… He deserves to be beat for many reasons, but to top it all off… If you were going to post something like this, why wouldn’t you at least block out his address? Disgusting.

2 Chainz is a fool trying to deny this ever happened in the first place. All of his business put on blast by the thieves, not to mention his behind is on video running like he saw the Holy Ghost.. However, 2 Chainz is still denying that he was robbed, and took to Twitter to voice his truth on the situation.

"How u glorifying a nigga. Who took a wallet, im from the streets , that ain't robbing that's 'pick pocketing.'" Tweets courtesy of VLAD TV!

Olympian Lolo Jones took to Twitter Thursday to make a joke about a key witness in the Trayvon Martin murder case, and was instantly attacked for the attempt. Jones made fun of Rachel Jeantel, the last person to speak with the slain teen before his death.

She probably should have done that. Jeantel's two-day run on the witness stand was interesting to say the least. While being cross-examined by accused Martin killer, George Zimmerman's lawyer, the 19-year-old rolled her eyes, sighed heavily, and was pretty much annoyed by every question launched her way. The high school student's large frame is where Jones decided to take aim.

From TheGrio:

Jeantel took the stand testifying for the second day in a row on Thursday. Her appearance, speech and demeanor on the stand have drawn criticism from social media users.

Jones, who has over 358,000 followers, tweeted about Jeantel, comparing her to Madea, Tyler Perry's most infamously uncouth character.

Rachel Jeantel looked so irritated during the cross-examination that I burned it on DVD and I'm going to sell it as Madea goes to court.—

Lolo Jones (@lolojones) June 27, 2013

Despite critics like Jones, there are Jeantel supporters who have come to the teen's defense.

Jones received a tremendous backlash from her fellow Twitter users and followers for her remark, with some telling her to “stop” and “grow up.”

Jones deleted the tweets, which didn't really calm the backlash, and I have some of the tweets for you. Plus one from me as well! Check them out below.

6/28/13

The former Washington Wizard just copped a misdemeanor felony charge after getting caught with 100 pounds of fireworks.

While he was riding down the highway in Cali around 2:30AM this morning, cops pulled Gilbert and his Ford truck over for speeding. And thanks to all the fireworks being uncovered in the bed and cab of the truck, cops saw it all in plain sight. He was immediately booked for possession of illegal fireworks, speeding, and driving without a license.

TMZ reports the cops even had to call the BOMB SQUAD because there were so many fireworks.

He's since been released without having to pay bail, but he's got to return home to his fiancee Laura Govan and their kids with no fireworks for the 4th of July. Womps. But seeing that Gil was popped for gun possession when he foolishly whipped out a loaded gun in the locker room back in 2010, his fam may not even be surprised by this.

Lauryn Hill, who was sentenced to three months in prison for tax evasion last month, and will be reporting for that sentence next week writes an in depth piece on racism...

Ms. Hill writes on her Tumblr page

MLH On Racism

The concept of reverse racism is flawed, if not absolutely ridiculous. Most, if not all of the negative responses from people of color toward white people, are reactions to the hatred, violence, cruelty and brutality that they were shown by white people for centuries. Much of the foundation of the modern world was built on the forced free labor of black peoples. The African Slave Trade, the institution of slavery, colonialism, its derivative systems, and the multiple holocausts throughout history, where whites used race as the defining reason to justify their oppression, conquest, and brutal treatment of non-white peoples, are how race became such a factor to begin with.

The initial claim by the oppressors, followed a moral imperative (so they said) that people outside of Occidental and European birth were in savage and cursed conditions, and that God justified the captivity of these people, and the rape and pillage of their lands.

Ironically, these oppressors would try to discard this same God, who supposedly justified this brutality, in the name of Darwin, whose famous line ‘survival of the fittest’ was used to justify criminal behavior once the Bible could no longer be used as a hiding place for economic domination and evil intention.

Spirituality and morality were replaced by capitalism, and with it a conscious shift of focus toward the exploitation of the vulnerable.

In order to justify reverse racism one would have to first create an even playing field, undo the generations of torture, terror, and brutality, and then judge whether or not a non-white person is in fact a racist. This approach would require people to examine the need/addiction to feel superior to someone else for no justifiable reason, and the myriad policies: Spiritual, political and social, that it bore. True dominion is self evident and not the result of sabotaging another in order to achieve it. That would be an illegitimate as well as a fleeting position. The Universe, will eventually seek to right/balance itself.

Of course there are white people who live transcendent lives, not exploiting ill-gotten privilege or perpetuating the sins of their ancestors who used violence and deceit as a means to gain advantage over others. Humanity in proper order is obligated to acknowledge the Truth, whoever it comes from, be they Black, White or other. Righteous indignation is simply a response to long-standing evil.

Much of the world is still reeling from the abuses of Imperialist selfishness, misunderstanding, ignorance and greed. Black people remain in many ways a shattered community, disenfranchised, forcefully removed from context and still caged in, denied from making truly independent choices and experiencing existential freedom. Their natural homes, just like their natural selves, raped and pillaged of the resources and gifts God has given to them. Interpreted through someone else’s slanted lens and filter, they remain in many ways, misrepresented. Taxation without proper representation, might I remind you, was the very platform of protest that began the Revolutionary War, which gained this country its independence from England. Anger is not only the natural response to the abuse of power, but is also appropriate when there is no real acknowledgment of these abuses, or deep, meaningful and profound change.

If we took all of what we deem horrible regarding the criminal abuses that black people have committed over this country’s history, and add it all up, it still does not compare to the hundreds of years of terrorism, violent domination, theft, rape, abuse, captivity, and beyond that black people have suffered under the ideologies and systems of white supremacy, racism, and slave based paradigms. I say this only to say that abuse unresolved begets or creates abuse. How then does the chief offender become the judge? Might does not necessarily mean right. Right is right. People forcibly reduced to sub-human existences, so that they behave in sub-human ways, helps a system to justify itself or feel less guilty about its blood saturated foundation and gross crimes against humanity. People, like plants, grow where the light is. When you enclose a plant and limit its light source, it will bend itself toward the light, for the light is necessary for its survival. This same thing happens to people locked in communities where little light and little opportunity is allowed them, survival then forces them to twist and/or bend toward the only way of escape.

There is good. And I both acknowledge and encourage the good. Instead of throwing out the Baby with the bath water, we do well to expose the intentionally poisoned water the Baby has been forced to soak in since its origin in these lands. America’s particular brand of hypocrisy is gross (double entendre).

I shuddered during sentencing when I kept hearing the term ‘make the IRS whole’… make the IRS whole, knowing that I got into these very circumstances having to deal with the very energies of inequity and resistance that created and perpetuated these savage inequalities. The entire time, I thought, who has made black people whole?! Who has made recompense for stealing, imposing, lying, murdering, criminalizing the traumatized, taking them against their wills, destroying their homes, dividing their communities, ‘trying’ to steal their destinies, their time, stagnating their development, I could go on and on. Has America, or any of the nations of the world guilty of these atrocities, ever made black people or Africa whole or do they continue to sit on them, control them, manipulate them, cage them, rob them, brutalize them, subject them to rules that don’t apply to all? Use language, veiled coercion, and psychological torment like invisible fences to keep them locked into a pattern of limitation and therefore control by others. You have to remain focused to cease from rage.

The prosecutor, who was a woman, made a statement during sentencing about me not doing any charity work for a number of years during my ‘exile.’ A) Charity work is not a requirement, but something done because someone wants to. I was clearly doing charitable works way before other people were even thinking about it. And B) Even the judge had to comment that she, meaning I, was both having and raising children during this period. As if that was not challenging enough to do. She sounded like the echo of the grotesque slave master, who expected women to give birth while in the field, scoop the Baby up, and then continue to work. Disgusting.

When you are beaten and penalized for being independent, or truly self reliant, then you develop a dysfunctional relationship with self-reliance, and a fear of true independence. When you are beaten or threatened with death for trying to read a book, then you develop a dysfunctional relationship with education. When families are broken up by force and threat of violence, then the family structure becomes dysfunctional. When men who would naturally defend their women and families are threatened with castration and death, then this natural response also becomes dysfunctional. When looking at the oppressor is punishable by violence, then examination of him and his system becomes a difficult and taboo thing to do, despite every bone in your body demanding it. When questioning or opposing oppression is punishable by death, imprisonment, or economic assassination, then opposing systemic wrong in any or all of its meta manifestations is a terrifying concept. Anyone forced to live so incredibly diametrically opposed to that which is natural to themselves, will end up in crisis if they don’t successfully find a way to improve or transcend these circumstances! All of which require healing. It is only by the Grace of God and the resilience of the people that things haven’t been worse.

Much of my music, if not all of it, is about Love, a therapeutic resolve created in response to the lack of messages encouraging people like me toward free moral agency. Helping to ameliorate this condition has never been addressed through the political arena alone. It is a sacrificial work that doesn’t simply happen between the hours of 9 to 5 or Monday through Friday, but when inspiration leads us to avail ourselves for the Truth that needs to be said. Unlike the system too often contrarily demonstrates, we believe that people can be and should be helped, and that trauma should not be criminalized but acknowledged, healed and dealt with. This takes awareness, sensitivity and a level of freedom in my opinion the system lacks. And if we don’t know or understand how to do it, then we humbly refer to a higher authority.

We have no desire to create humanoids, turn people into machines, or dumb them down so that they remain dependent longer than necessary to an antiquated system in denial of its many inadequacies and need to evolve. Instead we seek to educate and shed light on the snares, traps, and enticements that people set up in the name of business that are intended only to catch the sleeping and/or uninformed.

Why would a system, ‘well intentioned’, wait until breakdown or incarceration to consider rehabilitation, after generations of institutionally inflicted trauma and abuse on a people? To me it is obvious that the accumulation of generational trauma and abuse have created the very behaviors the system tries to punish, by providing no sufficient outlets for the victims of institutional terror. Clearly, the institution seeks to hide its own criminal history at the expense and wholeness of the abused, who ‘acting out’ from years of abuse and mistreatment, reflect the very aggression that they were exposed to.

Jesus PLEASE take the wheel! OXYGEN has revealed the supertrailer for "Preachers of L.A." and you'll see why this is going to be one of the most-talked about reality shows to hit the small screen. There's a new reality show headed to the small screen and it stars a group of handsome men in LA who drive Bentleys, wear expensive clothes and jewelry, live in fancy homes, have tons of women (wives, girlfriends and baby mommas) AND some gang affiliation. It could be the perfect brew for an urban reality show about athletes or rappers, but.....it's about men of the cloth.

Though previous reality tv series devoted to "the church" failed to connect with audiences (remember The Sisterhood?), the supertrailer for "Preachers of L.A." looks like it has the right amount of foolywangery to connect with folks at the watercooler.

According to the press release,

"Preachers of L.A." will give viewers a candid and revealing look at six boldly different and world renowned mega-pastors in Southern California, who are willing to share diverse aspects of their lives, from their work in the community and with their parishioners to the very large and sometimes provocative lives they lead away from the pulpit."

And from the looks of it...the lives they lead aren't too different from the ish we see on "Basketball Wives" and "Love & Hip Hop".

Here are the cast bios:

Bishop Noel Jones (@BishopNoelJones)

A Jamaican born into poverty, Bishop Noel Jones has made his way to the other extreme, now living on a hilltop with a view of the Pacific Ocean, Malibu at his feet, and across the street from the former home of the late L.A. Lakers owner, Jerry Buss. The pastor of a church full of celebrities, and the brother of Grace Jones, Bishop Jones is headed towards retirement and looking for a successor who he can entrust his life’s work. But finding the right man is harder than it sound.

Deitrick Haddon

The son of a bishop and an evangelist, Deitrick was preaching at the age of eleven and conducting the church choir at thirteen. At twenty-three he married the woman he was expected to marry – the lead soprano of the church choir. However, everything didn’t continue as perfectly as the church had hoped. Deitrick and his wife got a divorce and the members of the church shunned him. Aside from the call on his life, the one thing that helped him from hitting rock bottom was his music. A dynamic personality, singer, songwriter, and preacher, Deitrick finds himself at an impasse in life. Which road will he choose?

Bishop Clarence McClendon

Bishop Clarence McClendon appears throughout the world on his weekly international broadcast, which is available in 250 million homes worldwide. This charismatic and ubiquitous bishop has been noted for his contemporary and relevant approach to the Gospel. He believes the Gospel is not only for the down and out but for the up and out. His ministry spans from skid row to the estates of Bel Air. When challenged about what many have called his prosperity Gospel, Bishop replies, “there is no other kind of Gospel.”

Pastor Wayne Chaney

At the age of twenty he got the call from God and has grown to become a prominent pastor of the church his grandfather built. Fast-forward 10 years later, Antioch is the leading church in its community. With an ability to communicate complex truths in a simple way, Pastor Chaney has helped remarkably grow the church, along with the help of his secret weapon, his wife, gospel artist Myeshia Chaney. While Antioch is poised to become the next mega-church with the ability to reach millions worldwide, there’s an obstacle in the way and it comes from within Pastor Wayne’s own family.

Bishop Ron Gibson

Born in Compton, addicted to drugs before he was a teenager, a leader of the Crips by the time he was sixteen, a robber and a pimp, Bishop Ron Gibson was the least likely person to end up a preacher. He now changes the lives of 4,500 people each week at the Life Church of God in Christ, which he started with only nine people in the congregation. Through it all he’s accumulated great wealth, power and purpose. However, there’s one thing he and his wife would give it all away for – a child.

Pastor Jay Haizlip (@jayhaizlip)

One of the pioneering greats of competitive skateboarding, Pastor Jay Haizlip, originally from Gadsden, Alabama, collected big trophies, bigger paychecks and high-end sponsors, but fell deep into drugs, and into the crack houses of Huntington Beach and Long Beach, California. Back in the crack houses again, this time he’s not there for drugs – he’s helping rescue souls for the Kingdom. Serving as Senior Pastor of The Sanctuary of Huntington Beach, Pastor Jay Haizlip reaches out to troubled youth, finding them in prisons, skate parks and the same crack houses he once shot dope in.

It's worth mentioning that some sources said LisaRaye would be appearing as Bishop Noel Jones love interest. However, we didn't see her in the trailer. In fact, Noel was dating "another" woman. Perhaps they're saving LisaRaye for a big reveal?

A male drag performer was punched, kicked, and dragged by his hair on the floor at the Manny & Olga’s pizzeria on 14th Street, N.W., about 2 a.m. last Sunday by two female attackers in an incident that was captured on video taken by a bystander who cheered the attackers.

An official with the D.C. police department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit said police were investigating the incident and were reviewing the video, which had been posted on at least two websites, to determine the identity of the attackers. The incident was expected to be classified as a hate crime.

Miles DeNiro, 24, who had just performed under his drag name Heidi Glum at the nearby Black Cat nightclub, said he suffered cuts and bruises to his head and upper body and had clumps of hair pulled from his head in an encounter he described as horrifying and traumatic.

“I had ordered some food and was waiting and one girl approached me and she started touching my face, telling me I needed to blend my makeup,” DeNiro told the DC’s Washington Blade.

DeNiro, who said he identifies as a gay man, said he was dressed in drag after just having completed a performance at the Black Cat.

He said he asked the woman not to touch him and to “please back off” when another woman approached him and began calling him a “tranny” and “shouted insults at me saying I was a man and a faggot.” He said he shouted back as the name-calling escalated “Then I flipped out,” DeNiro said. “I spit in her face and her friend jumped in and they started dragging me around by my hair while punching me in the face repeatedly and kicking me,” he said. “They had me held down on the ground and they were pulling my hair out.”

The video shows the two women dragging and punching him before knocking him to the floor as bystanders shouted and cheered. An unidentified man who took the video can be heard repeatedly shouting and screaming the words “World Star,” which refers to a hip hop music website, on which the video was later posted.

The video, which was also posted on the site liveleak.com, shows one of the Manny & Olga’s employees walking past where the women were punching DeNiro while carrying out several boxes of pizzas.

“There were five or six workers behind the counter or in the kitchen area and none of them did anything to stop it,” DeNiro said.

The assault ended, according to DeNiro, when two men walked into the restaurant from the sidewalk and pulled the two women away from him.

“I don’t know who they are but they appeared to have seen what was happening through the window and came in to help,” he said.

DeNiro said two friends who were with him drove him home. He said he chose not to call police at the time of the incident but reported the attack to police Monday afternoon at the Third Police District at 17th and V Street, N.W.

Sgt. Matt Mahl, supervisor of the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, said police first learned about the incident a few hours earlier when Rick Rosendall, president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, emailed a link to the video of the incident to the GLLU office. Rosendall told the Blade he received the video in an email sent by one of DeNiro’s friends, who also sent a link to the video to the Blade and other news media outlets.

Police spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump told the Blade a second police report was filed by a party other than DeNiro related to an incident at Manny & Olga’s, but she didn’t identify who the other party was.

A man who identified himself only as Jamie and said he was a manager at Manny & Olga’s, located at 1841 14th Street, N.W., said the owners of the carry out restaurant were cooperating with police. He said the owners agreed to a request by police to show investigators footage from Manny & Olga’s in-house video surveillance cameras taken at the time of the incident. He said police were scheduled to view the video at 9 p.m. Tuesday evening.

“It’s my understanding that someone here did call the police and the police came,” Jamie told the Blade.

But DeNiro said police did not come before he left the restaurant to go home sometime after 2 a.m. on June 23. He said police could have arrived for an unrelated incident at the restaurant on a night in which he said “a lot of rowdy people” were on the street outside and inside Manny & Olga’s.”

DeNiro said he regrets that when he arrived home and observed the extent of his injuries, including damage to his scalp where hair had been pulled from its roots, that he posted two messages on his Twitter account using a racial slur to describe one of the two women attackers who is black.

WATCH:

The LGBT news website Queerty, which posted a story about the assault against DeNiro, quoted DeNiro’s Twitter postings, which used the “N” word. Well now one of the two women has filed a police report accusing the man of biting her leg and telling her “now you have AIDS.”

The report given by the woman, which D.C. police made public Tuesday afternoon, was the latest development stemming from an incident early Sunday morning, June 23, at Manny & Olga’s pizzeria on 14th Street, N.W., in which Miles Denaro, 24, says he was attacked by two women who called him a “tranny” and “faggot.”

Denaro said he bit the women in self-defense but denies he ever told her she had or would get AIDS.

According to Denaro, no one, including about six Manny & Olga employees, came to his aid during the assault.

The police report taken from the woman, who is identified as Rachel Manna Sahle, 22, of Gaithersburg, Md., classifies her biting allegation against Denaro as a felony aggravated assault that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.

The police report taken from Denaro classifies the assault by the two women against him as a misdemeanor simple assault, which has a maximum sentence of six months in jail and/or a fine of $1,000.

Police spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump said police would have no comment on any details of the case because it remains under investigation. No arrests had been made in the case as of Wednesday.

It couldn’t immediately be determined why the police reports classified the woman’s allegation as a more serious offense than Denaro’s complaint – which is backed up by the video – that the two women injured him in a violent attack.

Denaro told the Blade he did, in fact, bite Sahle on her leg but said he did so in self-defense in a desperate attempt to get her to stop pulling out his hair. He denies telling her she had or would get AIDS.

“She was ripping my hair out,” he said. “I have a bag full of my own hair that I picked up off the floor. She ripped my hair out repeatedly. There was nothing I could do to get her off of me because the other girl was on top of me and she was really huge.”

Added Denaro, “At that time, with my face on the ground in her legs, the only thing to help get out of it was to bite her. It didn’t draw any blood. I don’t think I broke the skin. I just bit her hard enough so that she would let go of me. And it worked. She did.”

The police report of Sahle’s allegation against Denaro says Sahle gave a different version of what happened from that of Denaro.

The report says Sahle told police Denaro “became verbally combative” with her at the restaurant. It says Sahle claims that after she and Denaro exchanged words “several people began to fight inside the establishment.” During that altercation, Denaro “bent down and bit Complainant 1 [Sahle] on the right thigh.”

It says that shortly after biting her Denaro stated, “That’s why I bit you, now you have AIDS, bitch.”

Based on the conflicting statements made by Denaro and Sahle, police investigators and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office will have to decide who to believe and who to charge with a possible crime such as assault.

Denaro told the Blade that he is HIV positive. The video shows him shouting at the other woman who assaulted him that she would get AIDS as he wiped blood dripping over his face. He said the blood came from two head wounds he sustained when the women knocked him down and his head hit the floor.

“I was doing what I thought was the responsible thing to do – to tell the girl I’m positive,” he said.

The police report taken from Denaro says Denaro told police that the two women started the altercation when one of them criticized his makeup and started touching his face. The report taken from Denaro contradicts the report taken from Sahle by saying the altercation was limited to Denaro and the two women.

6/27/13

Kerry Washington was recently on the cover of Emmy Magazine and this week she’s gracing yet another cover! Kerry hits up the cover of Maxim Magazine Australia. Leaving lots to the imagination Kerry poses in her blue boy booty shorts with blazer and gives you guys a little boob tease. Kerry bumps gums about her role in D’Jango Unchained as well as why it’s more important than ever to educate African-Americans on their history.

Peep the excerpts:

What attracted you to the role of Broomhilda?

I wanted to be a part of this incredible project that represents a painful part of US history but also creates a hero out of it. There were people who fought for freedom and rebelled but we don’t hear those stories. This is obviously not a documentary or a true story but it’s exciting to watch Jamie become this badarse cowboy hero.

Revenge tale that it is, there’s also a love story at the core of Django.

Quentin was always saying to Jamie, “Don’t forget, this is a love story.” I think one of the great things about Quentin is that he’s so complicated as a human being. He is so excited about these exploitation films and yet so believes in the real humanity of people. He is so into blood and gore but such a romantic. These seemingly contradictory ideas that he embodies so fluidly are why his films are so great – because he’s paying attention to both of those aspects.

Do you reckon watching this is a decent way to educate people about African-American history?

We don’t deal openly with the reality of what was done. Partly because it’s so uncomfortable. It’s so horrific. It would take a director like Tarantino, who’s not afraid of that level of violence, to even tell the story. It was that bad. We tend to think, “No, that’s just sci-fi fantasy sh-t.” We all should have seen this coming, though. When you kill off Hitler in a movie, your next project is going to be this.

Pick up Maxim Mag at newsstands now!

Kanye West SPOUTS KANYE-ISMS To "W" Magazine On His Ego, His "Sex Tape", His GOD-like STATUS And WHY You Shouldn't Take Him TOO Seriously

Fans of Kanye West know that he rarely talks to the press (because it usually ends in disaster), but the "I am a god" rapper did open up for a lengthy article in W magazine which unveiled his creative process in Paris and revealed the next phase of his artistry (which will be the rarefied upper reaches of design, architecture, and overall good taste). He brags that the goal is, "To make Kanye West as dope as possible.”

Throughout the piece, we see that Kanye does indeed have one of the biggest egos on the planet, but he's also one of the most talented and creative visionaries of our time. At one point, he yells at the writer, "Yo! Nobody can tell me where I can and can’t go. Man, I’m the No. 1 living and breathing rock star. I am Axl Rose; I am Jim Morrison; I am Jimi Hendrix.”

Here are the highlights:

On being rich: “I’m not a billionaire; I’m just a millionaire. But I’m the youngest guy I know who has this much interest in design and the ability to actually get some of it. So that makes me an important cog in the wheel.”

On design: “Furniture is my superobsession now. Furniture and pornography, still. The porn thing has never left since I was in high school.”

On Watch the Throne, his 2011 collaboration with Jay-Z: “It was like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talking at the same time. You know which one of us was Steve.”

On his new album, Yeezus: “This music is made to spark the visionaries to stand up for themselves and help the world. Because the world is fucked.”

On Christianity and Ralph Lauren: “I’m Christian in the same way that people have issues with certain elements of Christianity. It’s like if you go into a Ralph Lauren store, maybe that buyer didn’t do the exact buy that you want, but you still really like that brand.”

On being intimidated by celebrities: “Anyone who meets me for the first time and is not slightly nervous is completely full of shit. Because when I meet people I respect, I’m nervous. When I go have lunch with Tarantino at the Chateau Marmont, I’m nervous. It’s fucking Tarantino!”

On his intellect: “Visiting my mind is like visiting the Hermès factory. Shit is real. You’re not going to find a chink. It’s 100,000 percent Jimi Hendrix.”

On why he wrote "I am a god": "I made that song because I am a god. I don’t think there’s much more explanation. I’m not going to sit here and defend shit. That shit is rock ’n’ roll, man. That shit is rap music. I am a god. Now what?”

On his narcissim: “On one end, I try to scale it back,” he says. “Because I don’t want to close any of the doors needed to create the best product possible. But my ego is my drug. My drug is, ‘I’m better than all you other motherfuckers. Kiss my ass!’”

On "his" unreleased sex tape: “For the most part, I’d rather people have one of those home videos than some of the paparazzi photos that get published,” he says. “At least I recorded the shit myself. That tape couldn’t have hurt me in any way if it came out—it could only have helped.” He finally decided against releasing it, but don’t be surprised if he changes his mind. “Now, I just do exactly what I want, whenever I want, how the fuck I want,” West says. “‘Fuck you’ is my message.”

On Kim Kardashian as his fashion muse: “Nobody can tell my girl what to do. She just needed to be given some platforms of information to work from. "...one beautiful thing is that as she discovers it, the world discovers it. For her to take that risk in front of the world, it just shows you how much she loves me. And how much she actually loves the opportunity to learn. You got, like, a million companies saying, ‘This is impacting your brand! This is impacting your fans! And blah blah blah.’ But she still sees this light of beauty.”

On his imagination: “I live a pretty interesting life. But the life that I’m living is way less interesting than what I’m thinking.”

On the tattoo on his forearm of Madonna and Baby Jesus: “This is me and my mommy.

On how he's sometimes misunderstood:

“God’s little practical joke on me—as an intellect who doesn’t like to read a lot—is like, I’ll say some superphilosophical shit, but I’ll say it the wrong way,” he says, laughing. “I’ll use the wrong word, so it goes from being really special to completely retarded.”

On how seriously to take him: “You should only believe about 90 percent of what I say. As a matter of fact, don’t even believe anything that I’m saying at all. I could be completely fucking with you, and the world, the entire time.”

On his style don’ts: “Even the greatest tattoo artists in the world have a few bad tattoos. And that’s Kanye West. A few of my past outfits—questionable, you know? But I’m testing. I’m discovering who I am.”

On W’s 2010 cover of a nude Kim Kardashian: “I loved the fact that it happened, that it disturbed people. I loved the fact that it put those curves right inside that Hamptons house, that there’s some Hamptons husbands who had to cover that up.”

On his rock-star status: “Instead of using it to date as many supermodels as possible or to be as much of an asshole at a restaurant as possible, I would rather use it to access great minds. To be able to go to Axel Vervoordt’s castle on the first day that I meet him.”

Actress Tika Sumpter is known for her roles in the ‘Sparkle’ remake co-starring Jordin Sparks and Whitney Houston, BET’s, ‘The Game’ and most recently Tyler Perry’s scripted television show, ‘The Haves and Have Nots’ on Oprah’s OWN network. In response to the premiere of ‘Dark Girls,’ the 33-year-old, New York native shared her personal experiences growing up as a dark skinned girl, the impact of her role on Gossip Girl, and her path to self love. Peep the excerpts below.

Her Family:

It’s important to understand that I was born into a family with seven children, each of us equipped with varying personalities, dispositions, and, yes, skin tones as well. My mom has the most beautiful café au lait complexion, which she shares with my two older sisters and older brother. My three younger siblings have skin tones that range from caramel to a golden bronze. And then there’s me. My mother says that when my father, a striking man with kind eyes, broad shoulders, and deep ebony-brown skin, first saw me in the hospital that day, his eyes lit up brightly as he promptly proclaimed, “She has my color. She looks like me!”

Watching ‘Dark Girls’:

I was recently reminded of my childhood as I watched the amazing documentary Dark Girls. My heart broke just listening to the stories of so many young girls with brown skin traumatized by the cruel and hurtful views of those around them.

Response to Appearing on CW’s ‘Gossip Girl’:

I was truly unprepared for the tremendous impact I’d have while on that show. Each week I’d get the tons of letters from mothers, grandmothers, and young girls literally thanking me for simply existing. They wrote me saying they’d never seen a woman that looked like me on television before.

Reactions To Her Skin Color:

Of course I did experience my share of hurtful reactions to my skin color, but thankfully only after I was an adult. Who hasn’t heard the obligatory, “You’re pretty for a dark-skin girl” Or my personal favorite, “I usually don’t date dark-skin women, but you’re so beautiful.” That one really warms the heart. But in reality, the most disturbing aspect of all of this is that those comments were most often made by men with exactly the same skin tone as my own.

Thoughts On Young Girls Today:

It hurts me to know that so many young girls today are growing up without that same realization and reassurance. I also regret that so many are forced to seek their self-worth between the pages of mainstream magazines or in the background of a rap music video. I’d like to think that seeing someone like me on their televisions every week gives them some hope that things are changing slowly but surely. Finally, every day I’m thankful that I didn’t have to endure the pain that I know so many women do on a regular basis as a result of the color of their skin. My heart goes out to them all. And every day I’m even more thankful for a mother who was always there for me and a father (now deceased) whose first reaction to me on the day I was born paved my path to real self-love.

Tika stars in ‘A Madea Christmas’ to be released later this year and on ‘The Have and The Have Not’s,’ Tuesday nights at 9 PM on OWN.

ParisJackson To Check Into A Long-Term Treatment Facility

Paris Jackson is continuing to seek treatment at UCLAMedicalCenter, following a suicide attempt almost three weeks ago. The troubled teen cut her arm so deeply with a kitchen knife in that June 5th incident that the scar is horrifying.

She’s now expected to leave UCLA soon and spend up to three months at an unidentified treatment center.

Paris appears to have no desire to cut herself again, she remains in denial and is fighting therapy. Professionals are warning her family members that they need to better understand the triggers that set her off.

Paris Jackson reportedly tried to take her own life before the suicide attempt that landed her in the hospital.

Rapper Fat Joe gets four months federal prison, fine for tax evasion

rap artist and entrepreneur “Fat Joe” was sentenced today to four months in federal prison, a $15,000 fine, and one year of supervised release for failing to pay taxes on nearly $3 million in income over two years.

The platinum-selling rapper, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, apologized to his family, friends and fans before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor handed down the sentence.

Cartagena, 42, admitted last December that he stiffed the government and later blamed his problems on “fancy guys in bow ties” who were supposed to keep watch over his finances. However, he took responsibility and said he would pay back what he owed.

Although he pleaded guilty for the two years, federal prosecutors said Cartagena actually failed to pay a total of $718,038 from 2007 through 2010 — which Waldor took into account during the sentencing.

Cartagena lives in Miami, Fla., but earned money through companies in New Jersey — Terror Squad Production Inc., Miramar Music Touring Inc. and FJTS Corp.

He remains free on $250,000 bail and must report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on Aug. 26 to begin serving his sentence.

Cartagena admitted he received gross income in excess of $1.18 million in 2007, in excess of $1.28 million in 2008, in excess of $265,000 in 2009, and in excess of $630,000 in 2010.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman credited special agents with the IRS Criminal Investigation unit with making the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Mack of Fishman’s Healthcare and Government Fraud Unit.

MTV celebrated the legacy of TLC at their international Video Music Awards in Japan over the weekend. Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas were on hand to accept the “Legend Award,” which has only been given to Michael Jackson in the past.

“We’d just like to thank all of our fans and anybody who’s had a hand in our career,” said T-Boz. “We’ve had 20 years and we’re still going and we’re so blessed to be here and get this award.”

She also thanked her daughter Chase, Chilli’s son Tron, and the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. “Three girls, three dreams, and we did it,” she said.

Left Eye’s mother and sister were in attendance. “Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes is our sister. She lives on forever in this group, TLC,” said Chilli. “I want to give a shout-out to her family that came here to support us. I know she’s smiling right now. I know she has a hand in us continuing on and she’s missed, but she’s never forgotten.”

TLC will make its U.S. return at the Mixtape Festival on July 27 in Hershey, PA. They are also working on a new album and the made-for-TV movie “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story,” set to air on VH1 in November.

As Paula Deen's fans and patrons head for the hills, Kate Gosselin caused a racial controversy of her own, appearing to mock Asians in a Twitter photo posted on June 23rd.

Shared by another member of the Twitterverse, the pic shows the former reality star wearing a geisha-looking headpiece and red halter top as she pulls her eyes at the sides.

Though the snapshot is undated, the mother-of-eight is wearing a ring on her ring finger, indicating it may predate her 2009 divorce from half-Korean husband, Jon Gosselin.

The 38-year-old single mom has yet to respond to the photo. Stay linked to the Chronicles for more as the story develops.

PHOTOS: 2013 V-103 and WAOK Car and Bike Show 10th Anniversary

My Chroniclers in the ATL was in the building for the 2013 V-103 and WAOK Car and Bike Show 10th Anniversary.

Check out the pictures from the event.

The 2013 V-103 and WAOK Car and Bike Show celebrated its 10th Anniversary at the GeorgiaWorldCongressCenter. The large, diverse crowd included people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities who all came with one main agenda in mind: To gaze at the unique, bold and eye-catching cars and bikes that were entered into the Car and Bike Show.

Pop singer Ne-Yo represented at the Car and Bike Show with his Compound Low Life Lounge that contained custom cars from those affiliated with Ne-Yo’s label, Compound Entertainment.

After venturing through the custom cars and bikes of those who entered the Car and Bike Show, we made our way to Celebrity Row where we came across the following cars and bikes of some well-known celebrities and radio personalities:

This is just a sample of some of the cars and bikes peeped at the Car and Bike Show.

CHRONICLING THEM OUT AND ABOUT!

Sasha Obama, President Obama’s youngest daughter, showed off her long legs, rocking a pair of short denim shorts, while taking a stroll in Soho.

Model Jessica White is the latest celebrity to join Scientology. This week, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model was seen entering the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre in NYC. According to Page Six, the 29-year-old was raised Christian and was a member of her Baptist church choir, but she’s called Scientology “enlightening”.

How adorable! Two of NBA baller Dwyane Wade’s sons were spotted in a new fashion campaign.

Diana Ross is not in the photo taking mood, especially while vacationing with her daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross.

Fly, but casually dressed, Jay-Z arrived at the fundraiser for baseball player Robinson Cano’s charity RC24 sporting a simple black and white getup, on Monday night.

Lenny Kravitz was whisked inside, as he attended the Rolling Stones concert in D.C.

Nice to see the folks spotted out!!!

Kim Kardashian Having Trouble Breast Feeding

New mom Kim Kardashian is having trouble breast feeding her daughter and is on the verge of giving up trying.

Kim Kardashian is happily bonding with her new baby girl but RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that she’s having trouble breastfeeding her.

“Kim is breastfeeding now but it seems like she’s having trouble,” a family source said about the 32-year-old mommy who gave birth to her daughter with Kanye West on June 15.

“She is planning to keep trying do it for a little while longer but she may end up switching to a bottle.” Hoping not to earn the wrath of Gisele Bundchen, who famously said that breastfeeding for six months should be a “worldwide law,” the source said Kim wants to breastfeed but it isn’t as easy as she thought it would be to do.

“She has been telling friends that it is really hard, so we don’t know how much longer she’s really going to do it.”

Unlike the mom on the cover of Time magazine who breastfed her son for almost four years, the source said they don’t think Kim is going to breastfeed much longer.

“Kim is probably already plotting what she’s going to say when she stops. She’ll come up with a really good excuse I’m sure.”

Rosie O'Donnell Jealous of Kid's Bond with Ex Wife

Rosie O'Donnell is insanely jealous of the bond between her children and her ex-wife Kelli Carperter's new partner.

FURIOUS Rosie O’Donnell has a message for her ex-wife Kelli Carpenter’s new spouse: They’re MY kids!

Insiders say the former talk-show host thinks Anne Steele – the woman Kelli married on June 1 in the backyard of their shared Rockland County, N.Y., home – is trying to steal away the affection of Rosie and Kelli’s four kids.

Now the tug-of-war over the tykes has apparently escalated into an allout feud – at least in Rosie’s mind. “Rosie’s nose id definitely out of joint over how instantly her children with Kelli have taken to their new stepmom,” said a family friend.

“They seem to enjoy hanging out with them a lot more than with Ro and her wife Michelle (Rounds). That’s because they find Kelli andAnne to be more fun.”

Even though Rosie can offer the kids more in the way of material possessions – she’s worth an estimated $100 million – it doesn’t seem to matter to the children, says the friend.

They prefer spending their time with Kelli and Anne, a singer, at their home in Chestnut Ridge, just a 10-minute drive from Rosie’s place in nearby South Nyack. While Rosie is jealous over the fact that the kids – sons Parker, 18, and Blake, 13, anddaughters Chelsea, 15, and Vivi, 10 – prefer to hang out with Kelli and Anne, the reality is that she and Michelle are busy tending to the needs of their new daughter, 5-month-old Dakota.

Adding fuel to the fire is a comment Anne made in a “New York Times” interview in which she said that Rosie’s kids have become her instant family.

“That remark really hit a nerve with Rosie,” said the friend. According to another source, Rosie and Michelle skipped the nuptials, and she wasn’t thrilled that the kids were slated to take part in the ceremony.

“In the end, Rosie relented when Kelli requested that their boys play key roles as members of the wedding party,” the source continued. “Parker escorted his mom through the terraced garden, and Blake walked with Anne.

“It was a beautiful and joyous occasion.”

Meanwhile, Rosie was noticeably silent about the wedding on Twitter. “Normally she’s a fiend when it comes to tweeting and making her feelings known loud and clear,” said the source.

“But on June 1, there was not a single tweet from her about Kelli remarrying and moving on – no well-wishes, nothing.” Two days later, she apparently had a change of heart, posting a photo on Twitter tagged: “Chelsea n Blake at Kelli & Anne’s wedding.”

“That was it,” said the source. “Other than that, there hasn’t been a single word from her congratulating the couple.”